5150 vs ADA 3tm for recording

Shredragrammaton · #1 10-14-2009, 12:20 AM

Hey dudes

Im hoping for some of your opinions on wether it would be worth investing in a 5150 for recording (and giging eventually) .

You see , i just cant seem to get the type of distortion the 5150 offers , anywhere else.
Ive came close with the ada mp1 3tube mod , it can do a decent van halen sound and a lot more , and i really love that preamp but the GAS is kicking in and well ... we all know what thats like !

I have a few clips up here www.myspace.com/esotericdawn

My own compositions , and a new clip of the hot for teacher intro , via ada mp1. (drum track ripped from youtube - dont know wtf happend to the pick slide intro , it mixxed down like a low e dive bomb :/ )

Any of your comments on the sound , or the peavey 5150 would be great !

LuredMaul · #2 10-14-2009, 12:58 AM

I'm trying my hardest not to steal Clip1...lol
Keep what you have as it sounds good.
If yer just GASing for a 5150 buy one but keep the ADA

Shredragrammaton · #3 10-14-2009, 01:43 AM

YOU STEAL MY CLIP ! I KILL YOU ! YOU DIE NOW ! NEVER SEEN AGAIN !

LuredMaul · #4 10-14-2009, 02:13 AM

LMAO!

EL-CeeDee · #5 10-14-2009, 03:49 AM

I say go with the 5150, OR
Record the Mesa cab instead of the microcab.
( SM57, Beta57, E906, etc )

ColinMmmmm · #6 10-14-2009, 11:14 AM

Hot for teacher is such a great song . . .

rty13ibz98 · #7 01-20-2010, 03:21 PM

either one would be good, as long as you mic the cab.
i didn't listen to the clips, but micing is almost always better. rock guitars live in the realm of pushing air. even though i do use line6 products, the DI sound of them is good and usable, but the sound of a mic'd up cab with a transformer based preamp is the sound of rock/metal.

do yourself a favor and get either an shure sm57, sm7b, audix i5, sennheiser e609, e906, md421, or cascade fathead. those coupled with a GAP pre-73 will give killer guitar tracks! remember, mic placement is very important, too. if you find one sound too bassy, move the mic closer to the center of the cone, too bitey, move it away. more room, pull the mic back about 6-12 inches. really up front, within 2-4 inches from the speaker.

ultimately, are you happy with the sound now? if it ain't broke don't fix it. if your just gas'ing, buy the 5150 and have another flavor.
btw, the 5150 is a great recording amp.

rich

blackspy · #8 01-20-2010, 04:25 PM

Having owned a few 5150's I just want to point out that they really don't sound their best until they are cranked up. Putting one on a volume of 1 or 2 and using it as a recording amp at home isn't going to be great. Now put that sucker up to 5 or more and it sounds amazing. Deafening, but amazing.

The sound of the 5150 is also very distinct, you will not get it from an ADA rig in my experience. If you love the 5150, the only sure way to get that sound is to buy one, otherwise you'll have to compromise and live with a "close enough" tone.

For the record, I use an MP-1 (stock) 99% of the time nowadays.

rty13ibz98 · #9 01-20-2010, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackspy

Having owned a few 5150's I just want to point out that they really don't sound their best until they are cranked up. Putting one on a volume of 1 or 2 and using it as a recording amp at home isn't going to be great. Now put that sucker up to 5 or more and it sounds amazing. Deafening, but amazing.

The sound of the 5150 is also very distinct, you will not get it from an ADA rig in my experience. If you love the 5150, the only sure way to get that sound is to buy one, otherwise you'll have to compromise and live with a "close enough" tone.

For the record, I use an MP-1 (stock) 99% of the time nowadays.

the mp-1 is a great sounding pre, not too versatile in today's world of low tuned axes as much and it is noisy as hell, but tonewise is rocking.
i will agree that the 5150 sounds best loud. when i used to play clubs with mine, i couldn't get them over .5 without being too loud. on 1 and we were running solely on the amps stage volume. sounded best from 3 on up, and yes even that was deafening. my ears are hurting just thinking about it. the sound was sheer brutality, though.

rich

blackspy · #10 01-21-2010, 09:23 AM

Yeah, the ADA has it's own voice for sure. I don't find the noise to be much of an issue, it only gets bad when the gains are cranked... Over the years I've tamed my need for gain, my tone is not overly distorted at all.

There is nothing as awesome as that sensation of feeling the guitar in your chest as you play it. I love a loud amp like the 5150 with a 4x12 when I can crank it up.

With my rack setup I have a tube power amp that I can/do use with a live band situation, into a 2 or 4 x 12 cab. For at home I have a solid state power amp that works well with the ADA for lower volume.

rty13ibz98 · #11 01-21-2010, 12:21 PM

what is your recording setup as now?

rich

Shredragrammaton · #12 01-21-2010, 03:32 PM

Guitar > ISP decimator>ADA MP1 3TM>G MAJ FX>ADA Microcab>Laoptops soundcard>Sonar 8 producer edition

Drums are addictivedrums
synths are maudio vst

god bless torrent sites

rty13ibz98 · #13 01-21-2010, 06:32 PM

you're not micing?

it's night and day difference! are you in a place where you can't mic up a cab?

Shredragrammaton · #14 01-21-2010, 10:17 PM

Nope , i could mic it up ok. My neighbours are alcoholic elvis fans , and rock all night long anyways lol

The reason i dont mic , is that ive always like recording direct because i can hear it all through my monitor speakers. You got your drum vst rockin away , keyboard vst , all through the speakers , and you can just play along.

I breifly tried micing before (dont have any mics or micpreamp now) but i found that i had to use headphones to avoid overspill from my monitors being recorded by the guitar mics , and they also picked up the fan noise from my mesa 2:90.... It just seemed more hassle ... maybe i didnt give it a proper chance ? At that time i was using an M Audio Projectmix IO (TERRRRRIBLE PREAMPS!!) a shure sm57 , an audio technika at4040 condenser....i think the maudio screwed it all up for me...

Night and day , you really think its that different ?

rty13ibz98 · #15 01-22-2010, 02:49 AM

yup, i could send you some clips of my DI pod tracks, then the same parts reamped through my flextone 2 hd with the same exact presets from the pod, just mic'd up.
neither sounds bad, mics just sound better.

i will agree, the project mix is crap. cool control surface ideas, but crappy architecture and the preamps in m-audio gear of that lineage is poor.
i am a big fan of presonus i/o for under $1000, over that, your options are great; in number and quality.
the value of headphones when tracking is very important, too.
i think EVERYONE who is recording guitars and vocals should own an sm7b and GAP PRE-73. regardless of whatever interface you use(minus the onboard soundcard...the 16bit, 44.1khz that most soundcards capture are below the 24bit, 48khz resolution of most recording cards). some packing blankets and ROCK!!!
rich